This king crab and leek recipe from Dave Watts produces a feast for the senses - meaty king crab is paired with burnt leek and sea vegetables, with a dressing of red pepper and cardamom. King crab is usually purchased in clusters of legs and body, which makes this beast of a crustacean much easier to manage. Mizkan Honteri is a sweet Japanese seasoning which has similar qualities to rice wine vinegar or mirin.

Dave Watts may have come to cooking relatively late (at the age of 21), but he has more than made up for his slow start – winning Good Food Guide’s Chef to Watch accolade in 2013 and impressing at the stove of The Star Inn.

This king crab and leek recipe from Dave Watts produces a feast for the senses - meaty king crab is paired with burnt leek and sea vegetables, with a dressing of red pepper and cardamom. King crab is usually purchased in clusters of legs and body, which makes this beast of a crustacean much easier to manage. Mizkan Honteri is a sweet Japanese seasoning which has similar qualities to rice wine vinegar or mirin.

1

Begin by preparing the king crab. Steam the crab for 10 minutes, remove the claws and legs and place in ice water. Steam the body for a further 8 minutes before adding to the ice water with the legs

1.7kg king crab, 500g in meat

2

Once cooled, remove the meat from the body, legs and claws, setting aside 8 large, intact pieces of leg meat for presentation. Chop the rest of the meat, checking for shell and cartilage as you go

3

Place the chopped meat and all the remaining ingredients into a bowl, mix well and check the seasoning. Store in a suitable container and reserve on ice until required

150g of natural yoghurt

6g of coriander, julienned or chiffonade

12g of lime juice

3g of lime zest

6g of salt

1 pinch of cayenne pepper

4

For the red pepper and cardamom dressing, juice the red peppers and hang in a chinois over a jug until all of the liquid has drained into it and the remaining solids are dry. Place the liquid in a pan over a medium heat and reduce down to 40ml

5 red peppers, stalks and seeds removed

5

Meanwhile, remove the black seeds from the cardamom pod and crush to make a powder using a pestle and mortar. Add the remaining ingredients and cardamom powder to the reduced pepper juice, then blitz in a blender to incorporate. Check the seasoning and reserve in a squeezy bottle

1 green cardamom pod, roasted for 2 minutes at 180°C

10g of honey

1g of salt

25ml of rapeseed oil

1 pinch of black pepper

0.2g of xantana

10ml of Mizkan Honteri

6

For the roasted red pepper, place the pepper onto a very hot chargrill (grill plate or pan), or under a hot grill, turning every few minutes until blackened all over. Place in a bowl, cover with cling film and leave to sweat and cool

1 red pepper, large

7

Once cool, remove the skin, seeds and stalk. Slice the flesh into 4mm thick pieces, place back into the bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Reserve until required

1g of salt

1g of garlic, sliced

1 sprig of thyme

20ml of rapeseed oil

8

For the sea vegetables, bring the salt and water mix to the boil. Blanch all of the sea vegetables for 30 seconds, then drain (reserving the water) and refresh in ice water for 1 minute. Drain on kitchen paper and place in a bowl, then add half of the rapeseed oil and season with a small amount of lemon juice

4g of sea buckthorn

8g of samphire

4g of sea purslane

4g of wakame seaweed

20g of salt, mixed with 1 litre of water

5ml of rapeseed oil

1/8 lemon, juiced

4g of sea aster

9

Blanch the leeks in the reserved water for 3 minutes, then refresh in ice water for 1 minute and drain on kitchen paper. Cut diagonally into 16 pieces, season with the remaining oil and lemon juice and set aside until required

4 baby leeks

1/8 lemon, juiced

5ml of rapeseed oil

10

For the blackened leeks, slice 16 rounds of leek, approximately 2mm in thickness. To burn the remaining whole leeks, place on a chargrill until blackened all over, then place in a bowl and cover with cling film. Leave to cool, then place the rounds of leek onto the chargrill and blacken on one side

3 leeks

11

Once the whole leek has cooled, peel off a couple of the outer layers and cut into 8cm lengths. Season with the salt and coat in the rapeseed oil

2g of salt

20ml of rapeseed oil

12

To serve, place the burnt leek batons into the centre of each plate, followed by a piece of the reserved crab leg meat. Season each with a pinch of salt and a drop of rapeseed oil

salt

rapeseed oil

13

Place the crab salad over the leek, followed by the roasted red pepper and the burnt leek rounds. Arrange the sea vegetables and baby leeks around each plate, followed by dots of the red pepper dressing and a little of the oil from the roasted red peppers. Garnish with the sorrel leaves and serve

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Dave Watts may have come to cooking relatively late (at the age of 21), but he has more than made up for his slow start – winning Good Food Guide’s Chef to Watch accolade in 2013 and impressing at the stove of The Star Inn.

Dave Watts may have come to cooking relatively late (at the age of 21), but he has more than made up for his slow start – winning Good Food Guide’s Chef to Watch accolade in 2013 and impressing at the stove of The Star Inn.